Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Aquifoliales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Ilex montana
FAMILY
Aquifoliaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Mountain Holly at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ilex montana
FAMILY
Aquifoliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Guide to the Vascular Plants of the Blue Ridge (Wofford, 1989)
Ilex ambigua var. monticola
SYNONYMOUS WITH Systematic study of Ilex ambigua, Ilex decidua and related taxa (Krakow, 1989)
Ilex montana
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 112-01-006b:
Ilex ambigua var. montana FAMILY Aquifoliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Ilex montana var. montana
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ilex monticola
COMMON NAME:
Mountain Holly, Mountain Winterberry
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_706
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_ilmo_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_ilmo_002_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm110513_498
May Greenville County SC
Camp Old Indian
)
JK Marlow jkm110513_506
May Greenville County SC
Camp Old Indian
Staminate flowers fascicled, usually on spur shoots, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm0406i_12
June Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Bald
The only deciduous holly in mesic forests in the mountains of SC, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmimontana_brp234
June Alleghaney County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm090726_040
July Buncombe County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Reports of this species in the Coastal Plain are based on misidentifications, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
)
JK Marlow jkm090726_043
July Buncombe County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm090726_045
July Buncombe County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Fruit borne primarily in the axils of leaves on spur shoots, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm090726_052
July Buncombe County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm080924_109b
September Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Leaves usually > 4" long with acuminate tips and sharply toothed margins, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm140913_655
September Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Fruit 5-8mm in diameter, borne on stalks 1-6mm long, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm140913_656
September Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Drupe ~ 1/2" in diameter - the larger fruit helps distinguish this species, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Ron Lance rwl735_a
September
)
Will Stuart wil_10501794813
September Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Ilex montana
FAMILY
Aquifoliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Ilex montana
FAMILY
Aquifoliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Guide to the Vascular Plants of the Blue Ridge (Wofford, 1989)
Ilex ambigua var. monticola
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Systematic study of Ilex ambigua, Ilex decidua and related taxa (Krakow, 1989)
Ilex montana
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 112-01-006b:
Ilex ambigua var. montana
FAMILY
Aquifoliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Ilex montana var. montana
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Ilex monticola
735
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Usually dioecious
Habitat: Mesic forests, rarely bogs or bog edges, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains (rare in Piedmont)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White/Greenish-white
4-merous (5-merous?)
Usually unisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Red
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p154
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p166
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p171
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p129
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p125
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p088
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p078
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p168
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p307
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p144
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p34
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p288
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p174
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